The state Air Resources Board (ARB) is attempting to mitigate the damaging impact that older, dirtier trucks have on nearby communities that have traditionally borne the brunt of diesel pollution due to the high volume of truck traffic near the rail yards.

BNSF will pay $625,000 as a mitigation project to the South Coast Air Quality Management District to fund installation of high efficiency air filtration systems in several schools located near its rail yards. The ARB says those systems dramatically reduce children’s exposure to diesel particulate and other toxic air contaminants.